The procurement of lithium battery recycling declined in April, primarily due to inventory stockpiling by hydrometallurgical plants and the continuous downward trend in lithium salt prices.

SMM Cobalt Morning Meeting Summary: This week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate fell. Supply side, spot quotes for cobalt sulphate from smelters slightly loosened, and quotes from recyclers also declined. Demand side, downstream precursor plants showed weak acceptance of the current cobalt sulphate prices and had not yet initiated procurement actions. Meanwhile, Co3O4 enterprises were mainly in a wait-and-see sentiment, resulting in extremely sluggish spot transactions of cobalt sulphate recently. It is expected that next week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate may maintain a fluctuating trend.

[SMM Cobalt & Lithium Morning Meeting Summary: This week, the price of natural graphite saw a slight decline. Cost side, there were no significant changes in the prices of core raw materials and processing costs this week; the supply side remained relatively abundant; downstream demand was sluggish, with no signs of improvement. Therefore, although there was no significant fluctuation in production costs this period, due to production lag, the previous decline in raw material prices led to a slight drop in the price of natural graphite anode material this period.

①According to disclosures from participating companies, with the sustained recovery of the global new energy vehicle (NEV) industry and the rapid rise of the energy storage system (ESS) market, the global demand for lithium batteries has shown a growth trend since 2025. ②The latest sodium-ion battery has achieved an energy density breakthrough of over 200 Wh/kg, approaching the level of lithium iron phosphate (LFP). Although hydrogen energy and hydrogen fuel cells are still in the early stages of industrialisation, they hold immense market potential. Several companies have made new progress in the industrialisation of semi-solid/solid-state batteries.

This week, the lithium carbonate market has shown a certain fluctuating upward trend, but the overall market still faces numerous challenges. The SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate index price rose from 64,808 yuan/mt to 65,061 yuan/mt, with a cumulative increase of 253 yuan/mt.

[SMM Weekly Review] This week, the price fluctuation of DC-side battery cabins was relatively small. The average price of a 5MWh DC-side battery cabin was 0.43 yuan/Wh; the average price of a 3.44/3.77MWh DC-side battery cabin was 0.438 yuan/Wh.

[SMM Weekly Review of Refined Cobalt Market: Refined Cobalt Spot Price Shows Slight Recovery] This week, the spot price of refined cobalt has recovered. Supply side, production cuts at refined cobalt smelters continue, and the market is still digesting social inventory. Demand side, orders from downstream producers have not seen significant recovery, and producers are still maintaining a purchasing pace of production scheduling based on demand, with no significant inventory-building actions observed downstream. According to the latest news, the DRC has not yet announced relevant policies on cobalt export bans, and it is expected to announce follow-up measures in June. It is anticipated that there will be no significant changes in the short-term supply and demand situation next week, and the price of refined cobalt may fluctuate.